Profiteer

Vashniya was crossing the ornamental stone bridge that led to the front courtyard of the Indi Consulate when a voice addressed him.

 

“Mr. Vashniya?”

 

Vashniya turned and saw a furtive figure step out from behind a tree. The man addressing him had appeared from out of nowhere, and Vashniya’s first thought was he was about to be ambushed. The feeling faded. The trees around him concealed more security than anywhere else on the planet. The man could not be a threat and be within a kilometer of here.

 

“Yes?” Vashniya asked.

 

“I was told you may be able to help me.” Now that Vashniya had a good look at the man, he began to wonder. The man had the unsure fumbling gait of a new arrival, unfamiliar with the gravity. Heavier than he’s used to, Vashniya thought. The man’s hair was bleached from heavy UV, but the stranger’s skin showed no sign of burning. The clothes he wore were new—very new.

 

An enigma from off-planet.

 

“What can I do for you?”

 

The man raised his hand to brush through his hair, and Vashniya noticed that it was a rather crude biomechanic, scarred and pitted in contrast to the polished image the rest of the man was trying to portray. The man noticed Vashniya looking and put the hand in his pocket.

 

“There’re no offices for the Seven Worlds here.”

 

Vashniya nodded. “I believe they only maintain one embassy out of their own sphere, on Mazimba.” The man had gone considerably out of his way to chase a shadow.

 

“But there’s a Tau Ceti delegate here for the Congress.”

 

“Actually, she’s from Grimalkin.”

 

“I need to talk to her.”

 

Vashniya chuckled. “I am not a secretary. I don’t make appointments for other diplomats. You have to talk to her.”

 

The man looked exasperated. “If I knew where to find her, I would.”

 

“Ah, I see the problem.”

 

“Can you tell me how to get in touch with her?”

 

“Why?”

 

The man only hesitated for a fraction of a second, but Vashniya noticed it. “I’m tracking down relatives on Dakota.”

 

It was a lie.

 

Vashniya decided to let it rest. He could question Hernandez about it if this man’s meeting with her ever took place. “Francesca Hernandez, she’s staying at the Victoria. They can ring her from the desk, and if she’ll talk to you, she’ll talk to you.”

 

“Thank you.”

 

The man turned to go, and Vashniya said, “Be prepared. She isn’t human.”

 

He turned, raising the metal hand to his cheek. “In that sense, neither am I, Mr. Vashniya.”

 

“Can I have your name?”

 

There was another brief hesitation before he said, “Jonah. My name’s Jonah.”

 

Jonah disappeared into the woods as suddenly as he had appeared. Vashniya stood watching where he’d been for a long time.

 

A trivial incident, really, Vashniya thought.

 

Vashniya returned to his duties. However, try as he might, he was unable to put the “trivial” incident out of his mind. That and the phrase he had spoken to Dimitri: “Everyone in power must fear change.”

 

Of course, his worries weren’t warranted. Vashniya was in control of the powers he was unleashing. But for some illogical reason, his meeting with Jonah made him doubt himself, and he didn’t understand why.

 

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* * * *

 

APPENDIX A